The Girl in the Woods
by MiaKitty
Summary: One night on the way to Fangtasia, Sookie hears the thoughts of a girl, left in the woods to die. Unwilling to return home after her trauma, she decides to stay with Sookie. Rated M just to be safe, due to the source material.
1. The Girl In The Woods

As Sookie made her way to Shreveport, something told her to take the back roads. She wasn't sure why she felt like she needed to go that way; it added an extra 20 minutes to the drive, and she was already running late. Eric wanted them to meet up at Fangtastia at dark, and the sun was already going down. But, something told her she just had to take the back way there.

As she drove, she felt the lightest brush against her mind, the way it felt when she was too far from a mind to really hear it, but close enough to make contact. As the feeling got stronger, words started coming in, little snippets of thought.

'Why me?'

'Why… kill me… didn't… anything…'

Finally, a full stream came to her.

'How could they leave me to die like this?'

Sookie pulled the car over on the side of the road and got out. The signature was faint, anguished. It was a young woman, and she was in serious pain. Sookie grabbed a knife, one that Eric had insisted she carry everywhere, and began to walk in the direction the thoughts were coming from. She followed it into the woods, gritting her teeth at what she was hearing. The girl had, for whatever reason, been left out in the woods, apparently bound in some way so she couldn't leave.

It wasn't just a simple matter of being left behind; someone had literally left her to die. She was human; Sookie could tell from the mental signature. So, it wasn't some weird vampire or were punishment for a crime. Some sicko had just left here there.

After ten or so minutes of walking, Sookie came to a clearing, and her jaw dropped. There, in the clearing, was a large slab, and a young woman was chained to it. Her wrists and ankles were bound, and the chains had been wrapped around her waist and neck. She was laying there, limp, in dirty, torn clothes.

As Sookie got closer, she realized that the chains were silver. The slab was apparently coated in it as well. There was blood on the shackles and the slab, and from the looks of it, it wasn't the girl's. She didn't look like she was bleeding at all, actually. There was no blood on her, only the slab and chains.

"Hello? Can you hear me?" Sookie asked, walking up to the slab. The girl was awake; Sookie could hear her acknowledge her presence.

'Who on earth is she, what is she doing here?'

"My name is Sookie, I'm here to help you," Sookie told her.

'Here to help? No one knows I'm here but them, she must be one of them so how can she be here to help me, they're all soulless bastards I hope the rot in hell like they said I would-'

"Hey, are you awake?" She knew the girl was awake, but she didn't recognize her, which meant she probably didn't know about Sookie and her 'gift.'

The girl moaned a little, and her eyelids twitched.

"I'm going to get you out of here, okay?" Sookie told her, phrasing it like a question, keeping her voice soft to keep the girl calm.

'How can she get me out I couldn't get out when they put me here they forged the chains together my wrists still hurt from where they welded the shackles together there isn't a lock or a weak spot the links are really strong I don't think it's really solid silver I think that it's just coated in silver'

Sookie pushed the girl's voice out of her head to focus on the chains. Just like the girl had thought, the chains weren't solid silver, and she could see where they had forged the chains and shackles together. "Looks like I'm going to need some help," Sookie told the girl. "Can you tell me your name?"

The girl's throat worked a little, and she moaned again. Sookie heard her think the name 'Alice,' and hushed her. "Don't worry about saying it out loud, Alice, I'm telepathic, I can hear your thoughts," Sookie told her.

'Telepathic is that even a real thing Jonathan never told me that people could be telepathic I mean he should know that stuff right I guess she is really telepathic because she knows my name is Alice I mean I don't think I've ever met her before her voice doesn't sound familiar can you hear me thinking this, ma'am, if you can say something say butterfly'

"Butterfly, and don't call me ma'am," Sookie responded, and the girl's state of mind shifted from confused to amazed.

'That is so incredible, you can hear me, do you have a cell phone can you call someone if I ask you to my boss will be worried about me I have been out here for a while I think it's been three or four days but I'm not sure'

"Three or four days?" Sookie exclaimed, her eyes getting wide. "You poor thing, I'm getting my phone now!" Sookie told her, pulling her phone out of her pocket. "I'm going to call the police station and have them meet us to get you out of here, okay?"

'No you need to call Jonathan he will be worried sick about me he is family he needs to know where I am'

"Alice, he is going to have to wait, we need to call the sheriff and have him come out here to get you and take a statement and all that," Sookie told her, but Alice's thoughts got even more panicked.

'No you need to call Jonathan he is my great, great, great something uncle he will need to know where I am he will be so worried and I need him to come get me and I don't want the police involved they can't do anything anyway and it will just be all complicated and I don't want to deal with anything'

"Alice, the sheriff needs to be told, of course the police can do something about it… besides, you said he's your great-something uncle, right, so he's a vampire?" Alice's thoughts told her she was right, and she continued. "He won't be able to help; the chains are coated in silver. We need human help to get you out of here."

'I wish you wouldn't call the cops Sookie I don't want to cause any trouble I just want to go home and not ever have to think about this again if the cops get involved there will be a big investigation and I'll have to deal with this for ages and it'll never go away'

"It's not going to go away if you ignore it, Alice. You need to have an investigation, so the people responsible won't get away with it"

'They will, though, and if there's an investigation it'll end up in court and they'll just use it to further their cause and it'll just make things worse I just want them to burn in hell like they said I would I don't care what happens to them here'

Sookie had a sinking feeling she knew who had left Alice here. "Who was it, Alice? Who chained you up to die?"

'The Fellowship of the Sun' Alice told her, confirming her fears.

'They said that vamp whores should be killed by God's light like their vamp lovers'


	2. Poor Alice

After a little over an hour of sitting with Alice and a few phone calls, Sherriff Dearborn arrived in the clearing with a couple of men holding what she guessed was equipment to cut Alice free. Sookie stood from where she was kneeling next to the girl and walked over to him.

"Her name is Alice. She's only eighteen, Sherriff." Sookie looked back at the girl, her expression stricken. While they'd been waiting, Alice had told her everything about her abduction that she could remember, and why she'd been abducted in the first place. It wasn't a pretty story.

Alice was working for her 'Uncle' Jonathan, a vampire who dated back to the Civil War, turned right around the same time as Bill. Apparently, after being turned, he'd kept tabs on his human family, protecting and providing for them. When the vampires had come out of the coffin, he had revealed himself to Alice, her mother Pamela, and younger brother Daniel. Alice's mother and father were getting divorced, and they'd needed financial support. So, Pamela had come to work for Jonathan as his day helper. When she'd died a little over a year ago, Alice had taken the position to help support her brother.

One day, while she was in the office of Jonathan's home, a couple of men came in. They asked a few simple, normal questions. Then, everything went dark. When Alice awoke, she found herself bound and locked in what looked like a prison cell. Not long after that, a youngish man came downstairs, and informed her that they knew all about her and Jonathan, and their sordid relationship, that their love was an abomination against God. She'd tried to tell them that he was her uncle, and that they were wrong, but he didn't believe her. She was dragged out of the cell and upstairs into a church, where she was chained to the wall as the man, the preacher, had begun a sermon about the evils of fornicating with the undead, and how God would punish those who chose to allow themselves to be defiled by them. Alice had to listen as he told his followers that at dawn, they would take her to their 'special place' and leave her to be cleansed by God's light.

When they arrived in the clearing, they forced her to kneel over the slab, and tried to make her confess to sleeping with Jonathan, so that she could repent. She refused, trying again and again to tell them that he was her uncle, not her lover, but they wouldn't listen. For hours, they stayed there, telling her that if she didn't confess, she would rot in hell alongside her dead lover, but she refused, saying it was a sin to lie. They wanted her to confess, and to join them, and tell her where her uncle spent the day so that they could destroy him and the hold he had over her. When she refused, they chained her to the slab and left her. According to her, that had been at least three days ago.

The Sherriff sighed, removing his hat to rub his head. "Sookie, how are you planning on explaining that you found her? Because without an explanation, it looks an awful lot like you're involved." He believed in her 'gift' now, and trusted it enough not to question her on it, but he knew that if he put that she was telepathic in the report, all hell would break loose, and he did not need to deal with that mess.

Sookie bit her lip. She hadn't really thought about it, she'd been too concerned for the girl. Seeing her expression, he sighed again. "Let's see about getting her out of here, and to a hospital. You 'n me'll discuss it after that." Sookie nodded.

The two men got to work, cutting the chains binding Alice to the slab. It took less than ten minutes, but they couldn't get the shackles off her wrists with the equipment they'd brought, not without hurting her. "We'll have to get 'em off at the hospital," Dearborn said. "Ambulance is on its way." He walked over to the slab where Alice was still laying, watching them all. "Can you talk, young lady?" he asked. When she shook her head, he sighed. "Alright, then. We'll talk after we get you fixed up, alright? You're going to be fine." She nodded slightly, and Sookie winced. The amount of pain it had taken just to do that was proof of how bad off the poor girl was.

A flutter of air made Sookie turn her head. Unsurprisingly, Eric had found his way to her. He walked over and took her hand.

"I contacted her uncle," he told her softly. "He is on his way here. It will take him a couple of hours." While they'd waited, Sookie had called Eric to let him know why she was late, and discovered that he knew about Alice's disappearance. Apparently, Jonathan was also in the vampire nightclub business, and had been in town, meeting with Eric when Alice had gone missing. The two and her brother had just moved to the next town over, and Jonathan was checking in with his Sherriff, according to protocol.

"Have you met her before?" Sookie asked. When Eric shook his head, she sighed. "She's in bad shape."

He nodded, and placed his hands on her shoulders, rubbing them. "Jonathan will be very grateful that you found her. He has been very worried. They were smart when they took her, covered up after themselves."

Sookie gestured to the slab, and the bloodstains. "I guess they've gotten pretty good at it. None of that blood is hers; they have to have done this to others." She shuddered, wondering how many people had died on that slab before Alice had been taken. Eric squeezed her shoulders a little before continuing to rub them.

"It will all be alright, Sookie. You found Alice, and now the Sherriff knows about this place. They will not be able to bring more people here. If they do, they will be caught." He met Bud's eyes as the Sherriff's gaze moved to them. He started over, a scowl on his face, and Sookie sighed.

"This is a crime scene. You have no right to be here. It's none of your business," Bud told him.

"I only came to reassure Sookie that Alice's next of kin has been notified of her finding. She has an uncle, a vampire I have been doing business with for a month. He was quite distraught over her disappearance. And a younger brother who was equally upset."

"So you know the girl?" Bud asked suspiciously.

Eric shook his head. "No, I did not get a chance to meet her before she was taken. I have only since met Daniel, the brother."

He didn't get to say anything else, as the paramedics had arrived to take Alice to the hospital. They lifted her onto a stretcher carefully, and again, Sookie winced as Alice's thoughts let her know just how much it hurt. The group headed back to the road, slowly and carefully, and she loaded into the back of the ambulance.

Sookie went to get in the back. "I'm riding with her," she told Eric, knowing that Bud wouldn't let him do so.

He nodded. "I will meet you there, and call Jonathan to let him know when she arrives," he said.

The paramedics closed the door, and Sookie took Alice's hand gently. She'd passed out on the way back to the road, and was now hooked up on an IV, which Sookie was sure was feeding her some kind of painkillers. "It'll be alright now, Alice," she told her gently. "We're going to take care of you."


	3. How'd You Find Her?

After arriving at the hospital, Sookie and Bud checked Alice in, filled out what information they could, and waited for her to wake up. They tried to come up with a story for why she had been there in the first place, but nothing was holding together.

"Everything seems to have obvious holes in it, Sookie," Bud grimaced. "I just don't see how we could possibly explain your presence at the clearing."

"We were looking for the girl," Eric said smoothly as he approached. The sheriff scowled a little at his arrival.

"Looking for her? Why on Earth would you have been looking for her?"

Eric didn't hesitate. "I thought about it on the way here. There are some… politics to it that you won't understand, Sheriff Dearborn, but-"

"Vampire nonsense, I take it," Bud interrupted, his scowl deepening. He hated the constant reminders that the vampires had their own sort of government. If they wanted to be people, they should act like people, he thought. But, there were obvious reasons why that wouldn't work, so he tried to keep his mouth shut.

Eric offered an amused, but stern, smile. "Yes, vampire nonsense. Suffice to say, I am in charge of the vampires in this particular area of Louisiana. As such, since one of the vampires under me lives in this area, and it is his niece that was missing, it would be my job to look for her. So, that is why Sookie was in the clearing. She had met up with me to search for the girl."

"That's all well and good, except you weren't with her when she found the girl, and arrived well after we did," Bud answered, referring to himself and the paramedics. "How do you plan on explaining that?"

"Sheriff, pretty much everyone who was there will have to lie, anyway. Maybe we can get them to say he was there when they arrived?"

The sheriff rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Nah, can't ask them to do that. They shouldn't have to lie, they don't know anything." He looked over to Eric. "Maybe we can say that you had gone off to find a signal. To call her uncle, I mean. Maybe you recognized her from a photo or something he'd shown you to look for her. So, you walked off after you n' Sookie found her, and then didn't get back until after we'd gotten there."

Eric nodded in surprise. "That would work," he said, trying not to voice his shock that Bud had managed to come up with something so easily. Just then, a nurse approached, and let them know that they could see Alice.

When they walked into the small hospital room, Eric grimaced. It was cramped and uncomfortable, and he'd always hated the way these places smelled. Sookie immediately went to Alice's bedside, and took her hand. She'd been asleep when they walked in, but awoke as soon as Sookie touched her.

"Hey, Alice, how're you feeling," Sookie asked gently. Alice started to speak, but Sookie shook her head. "No, just think it, you don't need to be talking yet."

'I feel much better now, they have me on some medicine so I'm not hurting and they said I don't have any real injuries, they knocked me out with chloroform and didn't beat me up or anything so all my injuries are from fighting the chains, my wrists are kinda bruised but not much because I stopped struggling a few hours after they left, and they've given my fluids to make up for any dehydration, but I don't think I was very dehydrated, it rained the last two nights I was there so I was drinking the rain water-'

"What is she saying, Sookie?" Eric asked gently, knowing that he needed something to tell Jonathan, and because he could tell Bud wanted to know, but was too uncomfortable to ask. The sheriff was staring hard at the two, and had a strange look on his face. He'd never been around while Sookie had actually done her mind reading.

"She says that she's fine, they've got her on some painkillers and are giving her liquids, and that she's not injured except some bruising."

"Does she know who did it to her?" Bud asked, and Alice grimaced. She didn't really want to share that information with the sheriff; like she'd told Sookie, it wouldn't do any good. She doubted they could prove it, and she didn't want to cause some big media storm like what would happen if the cops tried to arrest any of them for it. She just wanted for it to go away. Unfortunately, Sookie had had more than enough of the Fellowship, and was glad that they'd finally outright done something wrong. They'd never been able to pin the bombing at the summit on them, since they'd used outside help, but from what Alice had told her, at least one faction of the church had done this, no question about it.

"She told me it was the Fellowship of the Sun people. That they'd held a big service where they'd preached about the sins of associating with vampires and tried to get her to confess to having… relations, with a vampire. When she wouldn't, they bound her to the slab and left her."

The whole time Sookie was relating the events to the sheriff, and to Eric, Alice's eyes were staring hard at her, and she was mentally shouting for Sookie to stop. She'd hoped that she could just say that it was the guys who'd kidnapped her in the first place, and completely leave the rest out, but Sookie wasn't having it.

"So, they kidnapped her so they could do some sick, anti-vamp ritual, and left her out there because they thought she was having an affair with some vampire?" Bud asked. Sookie nodded. "Was she?" he continued, and Sookie shook her head.

"No, the vampire they're accusing her of sleeping with is her uncle, the one Eric called."

"And you believe that for sure? Because I'm going to have to question this guy, Sookie. I need to know that you believe her when she says she didn't. Any lies on her part, or his, can jeopardize the case. It's gonna be hard enough, considering who we're talking about. I need to know for sure." Sookie nodded again, and he sighed. "Great. Just great."


	4. Keeping Her Safe

A couple of hours later, Sookie was asleep in the chair by Alice's bed, Eric standing next to her, perfectly still, when there was a quiet knock on the door. Eric crossed to greet the man on the other side, Alice's 'uncle' Jonathan.

As soon as he entered the room, Jonathan was at Alice's side, waking Sookie with his sudden movement. "Thank you for finding her," he told them both, laying a hand on her cheek. "I've been quite worried, you know."

Eric nodded and joined Jonathan at the side of the bed. "She is essentially fine. Malnourished and dehydrated, but they are giving her fluids and such to remedy the situation. There are a few bruises, mostly on her wrists and back from fighting against the chains. According to the doctors, she'll be kept here at least a day to recuperate, and another for them to observe her, but then you'll be able to take her home."

Jonathan shook his head, frowning. "I'm not so sure that's a good thing. I mean, I don't want to leave her here, but…" He sighed, looking down. "She was taken from my home once already. I don't want to risk her again."

Sookie frowned. "You seem to care about her an awful lot…" She didn't think she'd ever seen a vampire show such affection for a human, at least, not one they weren't sleeping with. Not that she doubted Eric, or even Alice, but it just seemed odd to her.

Jonathan gave her a sharp look. "I have watched over this little girl since the moment she was born. I may not have always been in her life, but I have always taken care of her. She is my niece, and she and her brother are the only family I have in this world. They are everything to me."

Sookie nodded apologetically. Loyalty to your family was definitely something she could support, and he obviously cared very deeply for her. "I'm sorry for what happened to her. I'm sorry you couldn't help her."

Jonathan's head bowed again, this time in shame. "I couldn't, could I? While I lay in my bed, unaware and incapable of doing anything to protect her, she was taken from me, from my very home, by…" As he'd spoken, his voice had risen from the low tone of shame to one of anger. "By those damned Fellowship fanatics! I swear, if I ever get my hands on the men who took her from me, I'll-"

"Do absolutely nothing." Eric interjected calmly. When Jonathan began to protest, Eric raised a hand to cut him off. "You will do nothing, Jonathan. The authorities have been notified of what occurred, they are involved and will take care of the situation. Better they rot in jail than be offered the easy out of death. They don't deserve to die and not live with what they did."

Jonathan sighed. "Ah, I'd almost forgotten. You lost sight of God long ago, didn't you, Eric?" He stood, almost level with Eric, and stared into his eyes. "But, I do believe in God, and in Hell, which the perpetrators of this crime will surely be consigned to for their sins, of which I'm sure there are many. And I believe there is no fate more befitting those who use religion to spread their hate than to have the very God they act in the name of sentence them to suffer for those actions."

Sookie moved between the two and placed her hands on their chests. "Religious beliefs, or lack of, aside, Eric's right, Jonathan. Y'all have got to let the cops handle this one. They've already started filing the report and everything. They're gonna take care of it. Besides, most of the problem with these investigations is that they aren't sure who the suspects are. But from what I could tell, she's got a pretty good idea who did it. She'll be able to identify them."

Jonathan sat down on the bedside, taking Alice's hand. The girl was being more heavily drugged at the moment, sedated so that she could get proper rest. Even with everything going on in the room, she hadn't even blinked. "I suppose you are right, Ms. Stackhouse. I just… I don't want to let someone else handle this. She is my responsibility. I should take care of her. But things are different now. When I was turned, there was a law, but everything was handled locally, and no one would have naysaid me for ending their lives for threatening hers. Nowadays, I'd be arrested for doing so. I just… I have trouble adjusting to such things when my family are involved."

"Can't fault you for that," Sookie told him, resting a hand on his arm reassuringly. "But, it won't do her any good for you to get yourself in trouble when the situation can be taken care of in other ways."

Eric moved away from the bed to lean against the wall, staring hard at Jonathan. "Quite right, Sookie. And besides that, this might be our opportunity to really show the world how insane these people are. The only reason they're as powerful as they are is because they've not been classified as a hate group. Instead, they've hidden away under the shelter of their religion, the same as those who oppose gay marriage have. But this is an outright hate crime against our kind, and one with the intent to kill at that. Premeditated conspiracy to commit murder. Previous murders already committed. Intent to commit more, from the sound of it. They won't be able to claim innocence anymore. And this isn't just a few fanatics; they held a religious service. A large portion of the congregation was present. This is huge, and they won't be able to hide from justice. This time, we'll get them."

Jonathan grimaced. "You're making it sound like her suffering is just a means to an end. Like it's worth it that she went through this if it means that we can put a stop to it."

Eric shook his head. "I don't mean to sound so callous, Jonathan, but it's already occurred. We can't stop her from suffering. But we can use what happened to our advantage. I would never have set her up to be kidnapped in hopes that we would be able to corner them. But, they've done it to themselves. We might as well work with what we have. You can't deny that something needs to be done."

"I didn't say that," Jonathan said, sighing again. "I just wish you could at least offer some sympathy before planning to use this all to further your own needs."

"It's not just Eric's needs, Jonathan. The entire vampire community, as well as any human involved with a vampire, needs these people to stop. And the shifters and Weres, too. Everyone needs for their hate to stop." Sookie looked at Alice. "Eric's right, you can't stop them from doing what's already been done, but you can help make sure it doesn't happen again, to her or anyone else."

Jonathan nodded, although it seemed a little lackluster. "I'm not so sure she'll be safe until they're behind bars, or preferably dead. Like I said, I don't really want her to go home with me. But, she doesn't have anywhere else to go… I wish there was someone I could trust to let her, and her brother, stay with them. But I don't know anyone from the area, really."

Sookie leaned against the wall with Eric. "Well… I've got a couple spare rooms. I mean, I found her, I feel sorta responsible for her, too. She could stay with me."

Jonathan looked at her questioningly. "I'm not so sure…"

Eric moved off the wall and went to stand by the door. "No, that's perfect. Sookie lives in a small town, and the local Fellowship faction was shut down recently. The town is full to the rafters of vampires and Weres and shifters. Plenty of people to keep an eye on them. I know these people. They might not like me, and I might not like them, but they're trustworthy, good people. Sookie's brother is a Panther, her boss is a shifter, and her closest neighbor is Bill Compton… you did meet Bill, yes?" Jonathan nodded. "There are more than enough people to keep her safe."

Sookie walked over to the bed and looked down at Alice. "Let me do this for her. You'll never feel safe with her in the house with you. And I don't mind. To tell you the truth, I've been getting a bit lonely."

Jonathan thought it over for a moment and, seeing no alternative, nodded. "Alright. She'll stay with you."

Eric gave a small, somewhat sarcastic smile. "Excellent, that's taken care of. Now, I have a business to run. Sookie, we'll reschedule, I'll see you tomorrow night."

And with that, he was gone.


End file.
